I have replaced 3 Gen3 4Runner clutches and 1 Gen1 Tacoma clutch. And I have replaced a clutch in an Acura Vigor. (This was much more difficult.)

Somewhere in all that I devised two tricks that made reinstalling the gearbox-transfer assembly much easier.

I, too, used Harbor Freight's transmission jack.

You have to obtain two front axles from a small motorcycle. Your basic 70-100-125-175-200 Honda Yamaha Suzuki Kawasaki dirt bike. Most of them have an axle that looks very much like my photo. These are plentiful on eBay.

I used these items to pass through the lower bolt holes in the bell housing and into the block. They have the same thread as your Toyota's transmission mounting bolts. Being long and smooth, they serve as guides as you wheel your transmission jack forward. In all ways, getting the transmission aligned was much easier, I found.

The intent is not that the axles support the gearbox: they're guides only.

Once the gearbox unit is in place, install the top mounting bolts, remove the axles, install the lower mounting bolts, and torque away.

The strap provided with the HF jack is a rather cheesy and wobbly way to affix the gearbox to the jack.. I made the H-F jack more useful by fabricating a 1/4" metal plate so the gearbox could be level and firmly affixed to the jack. The other photos show the jack with the plate and Vigor gearbox.

Nota bene: Never volunteer to replace a Vigor's clutch.

Finally, I stress that I'm not saying this is how to do it. I'm saying this is how I did it. If someone else has, elsewhere, already explained a similar alignment method, I apologize for the repetition.

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